Netanyahu Returns to Power; Peace Talks Fall Apart

Parliamentary elections in Feb. 2009 produced inconclusive results. The
centrist Kadima party, led by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, won 28 seats
in the 120-seat Knesset, the most of any party. Netanyahu's right-wing
Likud took 27. The Labor Party fared poorly, garnering only 13 seats,
behind the far-right party, Yisrael Beitenu, which took 15. Netanyahu, who
became prime minister in April, formed a coalition government with Yisrael
Beiteinu, led by Avigdor Lieberman, who was named foreign minister, and
the Labor Party led by Barak, who became defense minister.

As a gesture of good will, compromise, and a fresh attempt at peace talks between Israel and Palestine, U.S. vice president Joe Biden traveled to Israel in March 2010 to begin indirect negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians. Soon after Biden arrived, however, it was announced that 1,600 houses would be built for Jewish settlers on the Eastern tip of Jerusalem, a section of the city Palestinians saw as part of their future capital. Biden immediately condemned the plan. Prime Minister Netanyahu apologized for the timing, but refused to rescind the decision.

Just two weeks later, Netanyahu traveled to the United States to meet with President Barack Obama; their encounter was unusually secretive and specific discussions were not widely released. Obama was reportedly trying to force Netanyahu into making concessions, specifically to freeze the Jewish settlement-building plan in East Jerusalem. Obama insisted that Jerusalem and other larger issues of contention between Israel and Palestine be discussed in "proximity talks" and that eventual negotiations would have to include steps to build Palestinian confidence, such as releasing Palestinian prisoners and dismantling Israeli military road blocks. Netanyahu complained that his allies would rebel against him if such steps were promised. Obama emphasized that the two countries would have to resolve their issues themselves; the U.S. could only help in the discussion, not solve their problems for them.